North Korea fired two ballistic missiles toward its eastern waters on Thursday. At the same time, the United States relocated one of its aircraft carriers closer to the Korean Peninsula in response to the North’s recent launch of ballistic missiles over Japan.
The most recent missile launches indicate that North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un is resolved to defy international sanctions and carry on with weapon tests designed to increase his nuclear arsenal.
Moreover, many experts believe Kim’s ultimate goal is to have the United States recognize North Korea as a legitimate nuclear state. However, the international community is showing no signs of allowing this to happen.
In a statement, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said that the launches happened 22 minutes apart on Thursday morning.
It said that South Korea has improved its surveillance posture. Also, maintains a readiness in close coordination with the United States.
The details of the flight were similar to what Japan’s Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada said about the country’s assessment. He confirmed that the missiles didn’t reach Japan’s exclusive economic zone.
He also said that the second missile may have been shot off in an “irregular” trajectory. It’s a term that has been used to describe the flight characteristics of a North Korean weapon modeled after Russia’s Iskander missile. For your information, this weapon flies at low altitudes. It designs to be maneuverable in flight for a better chance of getting past missile defenses.
North Korea’s missiles launched
Thursday’s launches were North Korea’s sixth set of weapons tests in less than two weeks.
North Korea fired an intermediate-range missile over Japan on Tuesday for the first time in five years. This caused the Japanese government to warn people to leave and stop trains.
It was the most provocative show of weapons by North Korea in years. In addition to that, experts said the weapon was probably a Hwasong-12 missile that could reach the U.S. territory of Guam in the Pacific Ocean and further.